On our way into San Diego I took a little diversion to show Tania a place that is going to stick in my mind for a very long time. The PCT’s starting monument on the border of Mexico and the USA is up a dirt road near the town of Campo. Last time I saw [...]

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Many years ago on a very different journey of discovery I met two girls from New Jersey at Pamplona’s Running of the Bulls. We spent nearly 24 hours awake and talking (and running). It was the first time I’d made friends en-route and I can only wish they’d all worked out so well. I met [...]

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Despite Rigatoni’s pleas we decided to go to Las Vegas. I can see his point, it’s not a pretty part of humanity, but it is fascinating and worth a look. We drove straight to The Stratosphere hotel which was pretty easy, given its dominance over the skyline.
 
As is traditional in sin city Las Vegas, access [...]

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From The Noodleheads’ we headed south through winding valleys, stopping for treats like great apple pie and free gondola rides, working our way to Mesa Verde. This was the first U.S. National Park to be dedicated to “the works of man” and the works in question are stone and mortar houses built in steep valleys [...]

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For the past few days we have had the good fortune to stay with friends near the Rocky Mountains. An amazing landscape of mind boggling size and eye-popping beauty.
 
First port of call was Boulder to visit Levi, Sarah and bunny #3 who is expected to make her appearance on Halloween. Also visiting them were Dominique [...]

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A.k.a. Internal combustion engine FTW (that’s For The Win).
In just 3 days we’ve driven from San Francisco, CA to Boulder, CO, which is a long way. It’s a good thing that I’m trying to show Tania some cool places I know otherwise I’d probably have driven faster and seen less. Our first stop was Sonora [...]

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I’ve been here many times before, and I hope I’ll return many times later because Yosemite has a very special place in my heart. We were first introduced through my father’s photos of a misty barren mountain top and a grinning father of seven in shorts and a T-shirt. Clothes more suited to this cloudless [...]

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A.k.a. “I’m melting, I’m melting”
It is seriously hot in Tokyo, and most of Japan for that matter. So we’re taking a break and flying to America for a road-trip! Updates will still happen, but expect sausages and hot dogs instead of sashimi and hot springs.
     

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Though I had thought of moving to Japan for many years, and I did a long distance hike last year. It wasn’t until I heard of ‘Kintaro Walks Japan’ that I thought of putting my two interests together. Kintaro, or Tyler as he’s known in real life, was inspired by Ayumi whose dad still holds [...]

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By chance we happened to be passing by Matsumoto (and thus Charles and Yuko who I saw at my half-way point two months ago) during a festival. As the rather repetitive song explained it was “bon bon Matsumoto, bon bon bon!”. Played on a loop through loud speakers it got the parade of groups ranging [...]

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